The Boeing 777X like the Airbus A380: it's still on a dry run in the U.S. (though it gains a new customer)
In the now decade-plus-long affair of the Boeing 777X, which began with the first orders in 2013-2014 without the plane having yet been delivered to [...]
Singapore Airlines
Qatar Airways
Lufthansa
Korean Air
Etihad Airways
Ethiopian Airlines
Emirates
Cathay Pacific
British Airways
All Nippon Airways (ANA)
Air India
In the now ultra-decade-old affair of the Boeing 777X, which began with the first orders in 2013-2014 without the plane having yet been delivered to any customers, there is one striking element: none of the American 'majors' (American, Delta, and United) have yet ordered it.
In this article:
Version 2.0 of the legendary Triple Seven, in recent days gained another customer, although its certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still a long way off and the U.S. manufacturer itself has admitted that the first deliveries will take place (to Lufthansa) in late 2026.
Korean Air, fresh with new livery and in the process of merging with Asiana Airlines, has in fact announced that it has ordered 20 Boeing 777-9. The South Korean carrier now has 26 Boeing 777-300ERs in its fleet, the oldest of which are about 15 years old, and therefore has no urgency to replace them (which would explain the order for planes it will receive no sooner than 4-5 years).
In Boeing's order bulletin, Seoul-based airline is the 12th customer of the 777X and joins Air India (who ordered ten 777-9s), All Nippon Airways (sixteen 777-9s and two 777-8Fs), British Airways (eighteen 777-9), Cargolux (ten 777-8F), Cathay Pacific (twenty-one 777-9), Emirates (seventeen 777-9 and thirty-five 777-8), Ethiopian Airlines (eight 777-9), Etihad Airways (seventeen 777-9 and eight 777-8), Lufthansa (twenty 777-9s and seven 777-8Fs), Qatar Airways (sixty 777-9 and thirty-four 777-8F) and Silk Way West Airlines (two 777-8Fs). With the Korean order, the order book has bypassed the 500 mark (501), among which are 403 777-9, 55 777-8F and 43 777-8.
Latent, as we have said, are the American. But, while Delta, after alienating the Boeing 777-200ER from its fleet in 2020, appears to have clearly chosen Airbus for its long-range future with substantial orders for the A330-900 and A350-900, American e United are continuing to forfeit Boeing products for their intercontinental operations, in the form of 787 series -8, -9, -10.
Both have a substantial number of 777s in service: 96 United and 67 American. The -300ERs are relatively new in both companies (the average age is a decade or so), while the -200 and -200ER are very old (the average age is between 20 and 25 years).
The 777-8 would be the perfect replacement for the latter, but both American and Delta seem to have so far preferred Dreamliners to it.
We will see what happens in the near future and whether the 777X will go the same way for the Americans as the A380, which has not garnered the pittance of an order in the 18 years (between 2003 and 2021) that it has been in production in the U.S..
